Investigation of Risk Factors Related to The Use of Non-Prescription Proton Pump Inhibitors in Patients Referred to A Tertiary Health Care Institution

Research Article

Abstract

Introduction: Proton pump inhibitors are benzamidazole derivative drugs that act by inhibiting gastric acid secretion controlled by parietal cells in the gastric epithelium through neuroendocrine pathways. Today, they are widely used worldwide for the treatment of all gastric acid-related diseases, especially gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Objective: It is known that these drugs, which are most commonly prescribed to patients in our society, have recently been prescribed for inappropriate and unnecessary indications as well as over-the-counter use. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors related to the use of over-the-counter proton pump inhibitors in outpatients presenting to a tertiary health care centre.

Method: In this cross-sectional and analytical study, a questionnaire was administered face-to-face by the investigators to 300 volunteer patients who applied to the Internal and Surgical Outpatient Clinics of Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital.

Results: It was found that 115 (38.3%) and 26 (8.7%) of the participants were male. It was found that 283 (94.3%) of the cases were prescription drugs, and when the reasons for use were analysed, it was determined that 116 (38.7%) were multiple drug use and 125 (41.7%) were dyspepsia in the first two. It was determined that an increase in age decreased the risk of using non-prescription proton pump inhibitors at a statistically significant level, and a higher level of education increased the risk of using non-prescription proton pump inhibitors 5.791 times at a statistically significant level.

Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that the use of proton pump inhibitors in patients admitted to outpatient hospitals is extremely common. It is evident that the use of over-the-counter medication has increased recently with off-label prescription. For this reason, it has become imperative to conduct new multicentre studies to examine the use of over-the-counter drugs and the factors affecting this.